A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of arboriculture, and more particularly to a method of eliminating unwanted seed and fruit debris from sweet gum trees.
B. Description of the Prior Art
The genus Liquidambar belongs to the Witch-hazel family (Hamamelidaceae) and, along with two other genera, comprises the principal timber-contributing members of the twenty-three genera in this family. Among these is L. styraciflua, or sweet gum tree. The sweet gum tree is an important hardwood in the southern United States both for its commercial use as a low-quality wood and fiber source and for its use as a preferred ornamental species for southern landscape enhancement. Because of its ability to produce large annual quantities of seed from many fruiting heads per tree, sweet gum also presents a nuisance in ornamental settings due to its seed and fruit head debris. The flowers of sweet gum are unisexual and the tree species is monoecious, whereby male and female flowers are produced separately on the same tree. Both male and female flowers are produced in heads, with the greenish-yellow staminate (male) heads borne in tight-rounded clusters (racemes) on a stiff spike. Pistillate heads are pale green, consisting of two-beaked pistils subtended by small scales borne in large numbers at the ends of drooping or angling terminal stalks. Annual fruiting clusters mature into semi-woody, pendent balls or fruit heads that are about 3.75 centimeters in diameter. After seed discharge, these fruit heads may persist on the tree for another year or more.
Manual flower removal has proven impractical and ineffective as a method of combating seed and fruit debris from sweet gum trees.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to reduce the likelihood of successful fertilization by interrupting the normal process of male and female flower maturation, male pollen production, and female flower fertilization to prevent the ultimate formation of fruit heads and seed.
It is another object of the present invention to obviate the need for manually deflowering sweet gum trees by providing a method for chemically deflowering sweet gum trees.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of chemically deflowering sweet gum trees using micro- or macro-injection techniques.
The method of deflowering a sweet gum tree according to the present invention comprises the step of injecting a dilute solution containing indolebutyric acid, a compound historically used to promote the growth of new roots on cuttings, into the vascular tissue of a sweet gum tree. In a currently preferred method, five milliliters of a solution containing forty parts per million of indolebutyric acid in distilled water is injected through each of a plurality of pre-bored injection holes spaced every six inches about the circumference of the trunk of the sweet gum tree. The method causes delayed shedding of staminate flowers and early abortion or suppression of pistillate flowers, thereby preventing the development of fruit heads and production of seed.